I sound like a fucking ass. I only barely know enough about west coast rap to have an opinion. I can't stand most of the golden era of gangsta. And all that B-list shit like Cube... Might as well be ICP to me. That's just RAP. For rap fans, and aspiring RAPpers. It's so monotonous it's painful. I prefer music that aims higher than the chest. I like weird hip hop. I like soulful hip hop. I like brilliantly themed sci-fi / king fu inspired hip hop with production that resonates, and doesn't sound as one dimensional as And Justice for All.

Jay-Z performs for SIX hour in Art Studio: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...llery-20130710

I prefer someone like Biggie, or Chuck D, or Guru, or Rakim who don't give a fuck about freestyle, and instead work HARD to write intricate, poly-rhythmic verses perfectly aligned to a fat bomb beat.

Freestyle is decent wordplay, but it often says nothing other than superfluous thoughts and generic ideas.

Sorry to ask but how old are you?

Anyway late to the party as ever. Yeezus starts off brilliantly then the second half I feel kinda peters out. Just started listening to Magna Carta now. So far, so good. We'll see how it holds up.

Also-2001>Chronic. 2001 shits all over Chronic as an album.

No you don't, you sound like a perfectly reasonable fan of of East coast ra and hip hop. There are very substantive musical differences between the two, and it is expected that fans rarely be mutual. I do like the RZA/GZA/GhostFace/Funk Doc, though I do much more prefer the west coast version Black Knights. I also bump that Killah Priest, and love the Gravediggaz, and I adore Tribe Called Quest. But that is about as eastcoast as I can get, and realistically, those guys have a lot of west coast style albums (more musical cadence, gothic beats, super soul samples)

Nah,... Well, yes. Often it is that. But it's also fucking amazing to see someone spit a series of stream of consciousness rhymes, pulled directly from their id/subconscious/medial prefrontal cortex and /or ass-- that puts all the practiced and rehearsed ...

I started writing this this morning, and I am just not feeling it anymore. I don't even know if I agree with myself. Freestyle is lane when it's not great. Then again, what isn't?

i'm looking forward to ARTPOP tbh, Gaga is great.

There's a new Gaga coming out?

All I've seen of her lately have been a handful of topless tweets. Poor thing can't not look like a junkie. I would love to hear a new album that did her level of talent justice. Born This Way didn't do a thing for me, but I know she's insanely talented.

I don't get information like this. If it's not on Stereogum or the Guardian.uk, or someone doesn't mention it here, I won't even know find out about it until I see it in the record store or iTunes.

yeah, she just announced it a couple of days ago. it's coming out November 11, and she's going to market it the Jay-Z way, with an iPhone application.



Born This Way was a letdown, i think it was rushed, but when i listen to something like "Speechless" i just can't deny her talent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEMxle0yEY

she's been working on this one for a long time, i hope it'll be a masterpiece. i definitely have faith in Gaga.

I was just thinking of how important cadence and delivery can be. Kurupt really can't rap all that well, his lyrics are fairly simple, and even rely on sounds like some bepop. However, his delivery is unique and artful, and it fools people into thinking he is a better rapper than he actually is simply the way he says the bullshit he is saying.

exhibit a

exhibit b

And that ain't to hate on kurupt, I be steady bumpin that shit

Shabba is dope as hell, Ferg is 2/2 so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXZxipry6kE

most "freestyle" is not made up on the spot either. it tends to a collection of easy rhyme schemes and little "bits" of pre-written stuff. Rappers admit this.

new Earl single/video. f'kn awesome, Vince killed him though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FcDXL5Aw0o

I'm loving this new Fat Tony record

that's the first OF song since Yonkers I legitimately love

I'm seeing Earl and Kendrick on August 2nd you don't even know how stoked I am

Been giving the new Joey Bada$$ a lot of play lately. I hadn't really listened to more than a few songs of his before this, and I'm surprised at how thoughtful a rapper he is. At best, he was background music before ... I think I had two or three random songs on my iPod, but did not, and still do not, know a great deal about him. But despite the relative "soft" feel of the album compared to recent releases by new rappers, I'm really enjoying it.

Is it supposed to remind you of Tribe? Because it reminds me of Tribe a LOT. In a refreshing way, of course, because as much as some of these neo positive tip rappers try to recreate ATCQ's lyrical optimistic, yet still credible and musically innovative style, most of them have just sounded like pussies.

Goddamn, though, you know what I found really disappointing? The new Wale album, which I picked up the other day. It makes Born Sinner sound like an ambitious and challenging album. (Not that it isn't, at times, but overall... it's half a good album, half a rehashing of the same old shit). But honestly I think the Gifted is just plain bad.
Sorry. I know I'm breaking hearts all over the place here. ;)

Antwon - Dying In The Pussy

http://suicidesqueeze.bandcamp.com/a...g-in-the-pussy

 

oh btw I like MCHG more with each listen.

I'm trying really hard to love it, but it's not happening.There are some brilliant tracks on like (the first track is fantastic). but there's a few songs too many where my mind ends up wandering. The sample on F.U.T.W does my head in. What is that from?

I can't place the sample from "Heaven," though I know it has to be painfully obvious. The melody of the chorus, at the very least, sounds like it must be a Rubber Soul era Beatles track, but can I place it? Absolutely not. I'm sure it's in the CD booklet somewhere (y'all have to buy the CD- packaging is gorgeous)
but I'm too proud to look.

I really can't believe how poor the critical reception has been. Everyone thinks it's a great instrumental/musical effort, but that Jay is bored or old or tired. He's probably all three, but he still loves making music, and it's clear that this was a major undertaking for him, long in the works. Not just a promo for Samsung.

Speaking of phone promos, is Gaga really releasing her album *two months earlier* on iPhone? That seems extremely dumb. Although, if you're gonna do it, do it with iPhone. It's much more difficult to extract iTunes songs and make them playable on other devices, just due to the strictness of the medium. With google/windows phones, you might as well give away a million copies of your album, because anyone who can turn on a computer can share the songs within 60 seconds of downloading the app. Gaga might be making a brilliant marketing move for herself, apple, and IOS7. Cunning little bird.

i'm happy about the poor critical reception, cuz that'll motivate Jay to do a crazy ass album next. he's still got one or two great albums in him, he ain't leaving like this.

word. While I feeel a lot of it is Jay on autopilot, the beats are incredible. And my best compliment is that even when he has little to say, he sounds awesome saying it.

why aren't you guys talking about Vince Staples' verse on Hive?

Must spread more rep. Before blah blah noisereductions.

Yeah, he might want to branch out a bit lyrically. I think taking a more political angle would serve him very well. He can't really talk about the same old shit anymore, but he is in the perfect position to start rapping about social and cultural issues.

For instance, nobody's going to buy Jay Z rapping about his own life being "hard knock" anymore, but what about all the people who still live the life he escaped? He could be an advocate for change. He could tell other people's stories, and ensure that they were heard. From now on, I only want to hear 2 tracks per album about how awesome Jay is. I don't mind that Magna Carta consist of little else, but I think he could be a John Lennon figure for the rap world; something that gwnre's never truly had.

Basically, instead of telling us more about his own story, and laughing at the "haters" (of which there are, essentially, none) I want Jay to get angry, and rap about the average 40-something black man. My one complaint about Jay, who is basically my favorite pop emcee, is that he sounds like a ficking republican. A CEO. A "two-percenter." I just want him to take the "with great power comes great responsibility" path, instead of the "with great power comes the right to brag about having great power" one.

Still, one of the most well produced hip hop albums of the year. Even lyrically, it packs a serious punch at times, and features some lines that are destined to be classics. He also has managed to change with the times, without losing that Reasonable Doubt-era, Brooklyn gangsta persona that made such an impression in the '90s. I can't think of any others from that era who have been able to evolve with the genre, and sometimes even stand at the forefront of the cutting edge, while still essentially sticking with the style that made them stand out in the first place (with the possible exception of Nas--ironically-- though history simply hasn't been as kind to him as it has to Jay, and Nas has always been stuck between his inherent urge to preserve his individuality, and his susceptibility to the opinions of others... Specifically critics and fans; motherfucker is way too eager to make them happy. Jay doesn't give a fuck.)

My posts are ridiculously long. I start them, and get distracted, and get back to them hours later, making them read (I'm sure) like some kind of steam of conscousness tirade. Sorry about that.

you just made me wanna listen to "Black Republican"

Puffy just stepped on his discography ;)

Sev, you remind me of myself with Weezy. i always want him to do better, because i know he can, and put more soul into his music. but it never happens, and i get pissed off.

Yeah, but Jay has had soulful moments. He also has a cultural consciousness, but you're right. I'm asking for disappointment. Better to look to Kanye for that kind of thing, though at the moment he seems to be going through a kind of "plastic Ono band" phase, so to speak, and settling for primal scream over bed-ins and peace. ;)

Does "Diddy" even pretend to make music anymore? What a fraudulent fuck. I actually had a little conspiracy theory going about him back when Biggie died. I was probably spot on. Fuck it.

Smart move Puffy, concede defeat musically and take your talents to South Beach. They just cut Mike Miller, I think they got an open slot on the roster ;)

I aim to please ;)

Z-Man - Yeah That's the Rellie ft. DJ Quest

http://youtu.be/mvUFcTCfyG8

Man, look at that dumb, vacant look on his face. I know he's not an idiot (when it comes to being a snobby black Donal Trump on reality shows and endorsing things-- his actual knowledge of marketing and business is overblown, honestly) but in this picture it's like he's doing a Towelie impression.

"Ah man, look at how wacky this whole situation is that you are photographing! And me without a towel! But seriously, we are all very good friends."

Heat are probably thinking, "What the fuck is Puffy doing getting in our picture?"

Nah, I'm sure they just saw the tux and assumed it was Kanye. After all, non-NBA players all look alike. (I'm just saying what everyone's thinking!)

August 20.

Aaaaaaaaand boom goes the dynamite.